


Tasting his Meat

by Twin_Kitten



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, BBQ, Belligerent Flirting, Belligerent Sexual Tension, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Plants, Shop neighbors, optional smut chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-05 23:47:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17334650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twin_Kitten/pseuds/Twin_Kitten
Summary: Rey runs the Daisy Chain garden store, and Ben co-owns the BBQ joint that moves in next door.When Ben starts up his smokers early one morning, Rey thinks the building is on fire, leading to a bad first meeting.(Last chapter is optional smut)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Plaidam](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Plaidam).



Rey woke up, stretched and rolled over with a smile. The sun was shining, she could hear some birds in the tree, there was smoke billowing outside the window….

 

_ Smoke billowing?  _ Bolting up, she scrambled to the window overlooking the back garden and alley, she scanned the area. Following the smoke to the source, and man stoking a fire in some sort of metal can, she growled, and started pulling on her pajama pants and flowery robe. “What kind of idiot…”

 

She typically slept in a tank top and underwear, and her silk robe was meant to cover her in the warmth of her apartment, not keep her warm, So when she bustled down the stairs and slammed open the metal door leading to the back, the cold air slid right under the sleek fabric and made her skin prickle. But that didn’t stop her from stomping over to the gate and pushing it open, the wood banging loudly.

 

He glanced up, back to his fire, then did a double take back to her with wide eyes. He was crouched over a strange metal container with a bunch of holes in it, shoving wood chips and sawdust into it, in dark jeans, brown boots, and a red flannel shirt with the top button undone to reveal a white undershirt. His hair was dark, longer than she usually liked on a man but it framed his face, dark stubble on his jaw, and chocolate brown eyes that were blinking up at her in bewilderment.

 

Rey pulled the edges of the robe tighter, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at him. “What in the world do you think you are doing?”

 

He looked down at his hands and the task he was doing, and Rey stopped her brain before it followed the train of what those big hands could do to her, and then back to her. “Uh, starting my smokers?” His voice was tinted with a soft southern accent that she couldn’t place, and she shivered.

 

Rey rubbed her forehead, still sleepy and confused. “Smokers… What?”

 

He stood up. And up, and up, until Rey had to tilt her neck to look at him, and he motioned towards the back wall of his building. Lined up with chains around the frames, were oversized grills, strange looking black metal things, and shiny silver towers with smokestacks, some of which were already puffing smoke and heat into the cold morning.

 

Rey had known someone was moving into the shop next door to hers, her landlord had sent her a letter telling her about it, she had seen the moving trucks with furniture and the workmen going in and out, and had heard the thumps and tools indicating construction and set up. But she hadn’t paid too much attention beyond that, because she didn’t think it would matter, and she had her own shop to run.

 

Staring at the plethora of equipment, she huffed, “What is all this stuff?!”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry Miss,” He rubbed his hand on his jeans to clean it of any wood or soot, and stuck it out. She shook it in a bit of a daze as he kept speaking. “Name’s Ben Solo, I just moved in with my place. Are you the shop next door?”

 

She could feel her face scrunching, and she wished she could be calm and collected right now, but being woken so abruptly was throwing her off. “Yes… I’m Rey Kenobi. I run the plant store, right there.” She pointed at her own little area in the back of the building, overflowing with bushes and flowers and potting supplies. He didn’t need to know that it was actually Poe who owned the store, but she ran it and he let her live above it. “I’m sorry, but you really shouldn’t be starting fires back here without telling people. I thought the building was burning down.”

 

He frowned, his head tilting. “Oh… Oh, I apologize for that. I didn’t know you lived up there.”

 

“Well, I do. I would appreciate the courtesy of a warning before you do all,” She waved a hand at the line of strange machines, “All of this. Which you still haven’t explained.”

 

“Oh, well.” He hooked his thumbs in the belt at his hips and Rey realized just how big he was, his arms straining the seams of his patterned shirt and his broad shoulders raising. “I’m the grill master and co-owner of ‘May the Sauce be With You.’ It’s a barbeque place.”

 

Rey swallowed, sighing as her forehead creased in frustrated thought. “Barbeque?”

 

His eyes widened as his brows lowered, and she suddenly felt stupid. “Yeah, you know. Meat, smoke, grill… Sauce?”

 

Clenching her teeth, she stomped her foot, making him look down. “I know what barbeque is! You can just…. Do that anywhere you want? Don’t you need permits?!” Rey didn’t like the idea of fire going in the back of the building at all times, coating her plants in smoke, and throwing off the temperatures.

 

He rolled his eyes, “Okay, Hippy-Dippy, why don’t you go back inside before you freeze.” His tone was dismissive and he turned away going back to his little fire can.

 

“I beg your pardon?” Rey pulled back in shock, her fist clenching in the silky fabric at her chest.

 

His broad back was shifting as he worked on his task, and he spoke without turning. “You are barefoot, in that flimsy outfit, out here in the cold at six in the morning. Now, get.” He motioned back to the building as if shooing a dog, and Rey gasped.

 

“How dare you!” Rey whirled away, hating that now that he had pointed it out, she was feeling the cold; her feet freezing and her skin pale as she shivered.

 

*******

 

“You like her.” Hux grinned, leaning against the stainless steel counters in the back kitchen, his arms lazily crossed over his chest and his feet crossed at the ankle.

 

“You are crazy.” Ben grunted, heaving a sixty pound pork flank up on the surface, before giving Hux a shake of his head. “She’s a hippy vegan princess with a plant store. I’m a Texan with a barbeque bar. What in the world makes you think I like her?” He began stripping the meat of the wrapping it had been delivered in, getting it ready to be portioned, seasoned, and smoked.

 

His partner chuckled. “Yeah, sure, sure. I mean, what could you, a red-blooded straight man, like about her, a young woman with a smoking body and a sexy accent?” Hux shrugged, holding up his hands as he tilted his head, “That’s just, crazy talk. I’m clearly a lunatic.”

 

“It’s not a sexy accent, it's the same as yours, and I resist you just fine.” Rolling his eyes, Ben huffed a sigh and grabbed his knives to start sectioning and skinning the meat. “Is she hot? Yes sir, I ain’t blind.”

 

And Ben half wished he was, he was playing it cool with Hux, but Rey had been a main feature of his fantasies for nearly two months now, since the day she came out in that flimsy little robe. She had been all bed-rumpled hair and cold hard nipples poking through that silk thing. He had wanted to scoop her up and take her inside and warm her body with his.

 

Because Hux was right. She was a beautiful woman. He had seen her doing yoga in her garden patio thing, all long limbs and tight spandex, seen her jogging in tiny tank tops and leggings, coming back from shopping in short skirts with woolen tights and cute boots and tight sweaters. As it was starting to warm up, she was sauntering around in little one piece short things Hux said were called rompers, and more and more often the skirts had nothing under them and it was all bare tanned legs.

 

It was  _ killing  _ him. He was half-hard every day just thinking about coming in to work and possibly seeing her. He was exactly what Hux said he was, a straight man with hearty appetites, for both meat and women. He wanted to lick the inside of her knee and work his head under her skirt, or pull down her shorts when she was doing yoga and take her from behind. It didn’t help that she was perfectly willing to sass him and put him in his place, and as a man used to strong willed women, he was into it, giving back as good as she gave.

 

But Rey did not seem to have gotten the same idea. She had zero interest in the push-pull teasing and flirting he was trying to initiate. If he came outside to work the smokers and grills while she was out watering or whatever she did, she would either ignore him or leave. If they passed each other, she would stick her nose in the air and refuse to look at him.

 

So he  _ might  _ have provoked her on purpose a few times… just to get her to pay attention to him or talk to him. And Ben knew he shouldn’t, knew it was juvenile and stupid, but after being ignored several times in a row, he wanted a reaction from her. He wanted her sassing him, preferably while naked in his bed.

 

“She might be sexy, but she’s crazy.” Ben set the meat aside in piles based on what he was planning, and strode to the freezer to get a side of beef this time. “And I think you missed a big problem. She hates me.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

“I hate him!”

 

Rose dropped her chin and sighed in exasperation. “So? I’m hungry, that shit smells good, and you don’t have to talk to him. We can eat and go.”

 

Rey frowned, knowing she was being petulant. She and Rose had been smelling that heavenly barbeque smell for weeks. Rey’s mouth was watering 24/7 thanks to living above, and there was no escape. Rose at least got to go home. It was even worse when she saw that mountain of a man, looking like tree made for Rey to climb. Built with boulders for shoulders and a slab of a torso, that man made her mouth and other parts drool. She had seen him unloading the meat truck, huge flanks of meat thrown over his shoulder or hoisted in his arms.

 

But he was a asshole. Every time since their first meeting, he would smirk and toss teasing and taunting comments at her whenever they crossed paths. Most of the time, Rey tried to ignore him and not engage, but sometimes she couldn’t help it. She would spout off with something in response, but that only made him grin and say more the next time.

 

“You promise to be on my side?” Rey bumped her hip against Rose’s with a smile. Her friend nodded, and Rey sighed. “Fine, fine. But don’t let me take his bait.”

 

Rose giggled, “I don’t know… If I were you, I’d take his bait and fuck his brains out.”

 

“ROSE!!”

 

*******

 

Ben was half heartedly poking a piece of meat on the grill when Hux burst out the back door with a big grin. “Guess what?”

 

Rubbing his eye tiredly, he slid the metal cover shut and walked past his friend as he spoke. “I don’t know, you got that dog walker’s number?”

 

Hux scoffed, “No, now go in the bathroom and make yourself look nice. Your Vegan-Girlfriend is here.” Hux pushed him down the hall past the kitchen and towards the bathrooms.

 

Heaving a sigh, Ben leaned back, forcing Hux to work hard to push him. “Rey’s not my girlfriend.”

 

“Oh my god, you weight a ton, you moose,” Hux grunted and Ben felt his mouth twitch into a slight smile, before he strained to speak softly as he shoved at his bigger friend. “But you... want her to… be. You knew who I meant. Stop eating so much of our product!”

 

Ben chuckled, letting himself be forced into the bathroom. Rolling his eyes, he gave in enough to go clean himself up a bit. In the mirror, he straightened his black checked shirt and rubbed at a small sauce spot on the bottom panel, wetting his hands and finger combing through his hair, before washing up and heading back out.

 

When he came out Hux was ready and waiting with a tray of food at the pick up counter and he handed it to him despite Ben’s protests. “I’m a grill guy, not a waiter.”

 

“Shut up and take them their food. Be nice.” Hux frowned at him, shaking his head. “She’s our neighbor. It is in our best interests if she doesn’t hate you, even if you guys don’t bang and live happily ever after.”

 

Grumbling, Ben stumbled out of the pass through and then meandered towards the main eating area, glancing around for her.

 

He spotted her at one of the small tables in the corner near the front window, seated with an asian woman. 

 

Sighing, certain he looked as resigned as he felt, he walked over with the tray feeling like a fool. “I’m told this is your food?”

 

Rey looked up instantly at the sound of his voice, and then her face darkened and she scowled at him. Her friend was much more accepting. “Hi! I’m Rose, Rey’s friend. You must be Ben?”

 

Distracted by putting the food down he missed the glare Rey gave Rose. “I suppose I am.” Looking at the food, he realized he had no idea who had ordered what. And that was followed by the thought, had Rey ordered anything? There was nothing in their establishment that was vegan or vegetarian other than the alcohol, but there was a lot of food on the tray. “Did you have someone else with you?”

 

“No it’s just us. We had no idea what the portion sizes were.” Rose laughed conspiratorially, as if she and Ben were friends, and he chuckled awkwardly. “I had the Smoke, Sauce, and Fire in beef, and Rey… You had… What did you have?”

 

She was blushing, refusing to look at him, as she glared at Rose, and he heard through gritted teeth, her voice say “Married to meat.”

 

He blinked. “I’m sorry you ordered… what?”

 

He watched as she sighed, rolling her eyes and finally looking at him. “Married to meat with a diet coke, no ice.” Her teeth were not clenched together but her words were clipped and sharp.

 

“That has meat.” And a lot of meat. The Married to Meat had all three of the meats they offered, beef, pork, and chicken, in complementary flavors. It had portion of pulled pork, a stuffed and slow roasted chicken breast, and smoked beef ribs. It was one of his favorite things to have as a meal, but was usually meant to be shared. By contrast, what Rose had ordered was all the same meat with three varieties of sauces and cooking styles: hickory smoked, flame grilled with a spice rub, and spicy sauce marinated.

 

Now Rey was staring at him in confusion, which wasn’t great, but was an improvement over open hostility. “Um… I hope so, that’s what I wanted?”

 

“But you are vegan.”


	3. Chapter 3

Of all the things Rey thought he might say, that was not one of them. Rey was not vegan, by any stretch of the imagination, and was generally not picky about food. Sure, she preferred good food, but if she was hungry, she ate whatever was available.

 

“No I’m not.” Rey stared at him as Rose giggled, wide eyed and amused. “Why would you- What in the world makes you think I’m vegan?” 

 

A flush crept up his neck and for the first time she noticed how big his ears were, the tips turning pink. “I… You own a plant store… and the, the yoga, and your flower outfits…” Rose snorted, and he glanced at her, before meeting Rey’s eyes again. “You yelled at me because I was barbequing.”

 

Rey gasped, “Not because I hate meat, I love meat!” Her voice was a rough whisper, trying not to draw attention in the busy eatery, “I thought you lit the building on fire, it was six am, and I was confused and sleepy! Anyone would be upset...”

 

“Oh… ooohhhh..” He made an expression she couldn’t quite place and rubbed his hands on his jeans. “I… I gotta go. The grill.”

 

And with that, he stalked away before they could say another word. Rose stared at Rey as Rey slowly turned to look at her. “That was…”

 

“Do you think that is why he has been so weird?

 

*******

 

Ben was bent over, his head on the back table that the kitchen reserved for him to use when service was open, and pressed his forehead to the cool steel. Hux just shook his head as he ran the kitchen, making sure the orders were up to snuff as they went out. Hux wasn’t a chef, but he was the best damn organizer Ben had ever met, and his standards were high, so while Ben was in charge of the meat and recipes, Hux was in charge of the actual running of the restaurant.

 

Rey and her friend had eaten fairly quickly and left, and watching Rey eat all that food that he had essentially made for her, had made him unbearably aroused. And damn if she didn’t eat almost all of it, looking like she enjoyed it but didn’t want to admit it, when he peeked out of the kitchen unable to not look as she ate.

 

They were closing up now, and Ben was still feeling sorry for himself, and Hux was talking him through what had happened.

 

“So, she’s not vegan?”

 

Ben shook his head as the crew cleaned up around him, face still pressed to the stainless steel counter.

 

“Well. That’s good right?” Hux raised his eyebrows, patting his friend on the back as he pointed at some leftover food and whispered to some of the waitstaff for how to prep for tomorrow, before turning back to Ben. “Now you can ask her out.”

 

Ben lifted his head, glaring at Hux. “Really? You think this is a good thing? I should just, ask her out? The girl who hates me, because I’ve teased her, because I thought she was a vegan who hated me.” 

 

Hux chuckled as did a few of the other staff, “Okay, maybe start with being nice to her.”

 

“Okay.” Ben nodded, then glanced at one of the waitresses. “So, how?”

 

The girl, Kaydel, snorted. “Well, she liked your food. Stick to what you are good at, and she will see you are actually a nice guy under all your… dumb man stuff.”

 

“Hey!”

 

*******

 

Ben waited until almost lunch, but not so late that she might have already eaten, carefully packed a to-go bag, and walked into the store next door. Rey was at the glass counter, the whole place filled with light and green, beautiful glass and the scent of earth and jungle. She looked up with a smile, until she saw it was him and her face dropped into a wary narrow-eyed expression. “Can I help you?”

 

Pulling off his hat, he wove through the tables and stands holding a plethora of plants and vines, and set the to-go bag on the counter in front of her, trying not to think about how pretty she was. “I wanted to… apologize.”

 

Peering at the bag, she gingerly opened the folded paper top, and pulled out the container, reading the label. “Pulled pork?”

 

“Yeah, you know…” He scuffed his boot toe on the floor and shifted his shoulders under his shirt. “ _ Sorry, I thought you were a vegan and hated me _ …” He motioned at the container and shrugged as she pulled open the plastic top and the warm wet smell of the meat filled the air.

 

Giving him a hesitant look, she didn’t say anything, instead she wiped her hand on a nearby towel and reached her bare fingers in to the container, her fingers gripping a chunk of the meat. Before he could brace himself, she put it between her lips and sucked, the meat slurping into her mouth, and moaned. 

 

Arousal hit him like a punch to the gut, his heart dropping to his cock, throbbing like mad. He could see the juices and the sheen on her lips, that moan of hers replaying in his head until his erection was painful under his zipper. “Umhhh…”

 

She chewed and swallowed, seeming to be oblivious to his predicament, “This is… good. Really good,” her voice pitched as if she was reluctant to admit it, looking at him thoughtfully. “So, you were a jerk because you thought I was a vegan?”

 

“I didn’t mean to be a jerk, for what that’s worth.” He grimaced his way to a smile, shifting to try and hide his erection behind the counter, but it was glass, so he was feeling very exposed.

 

Crossing her arms over her chest, she sighed. “Well, I… I am sorry for coming out and yelling at you the day we met.”

 

“Oh, naw,” Ben held up his hand waving off her apology, “You thought there was a fire, that’s alright. I understand. I thought you were yelling at me for the meat.”

 

She licked her lips and Ben swallowed, his throat closing up as his eyes zeroed in on the tip of her tongue. Then, as if she had come to a conclusion, she put the top on the container and came around the counter. He instinctively turned to follow her, and grunted when her hand touched his arm. “Rose thinks we should just fuck and get it over with.”

 

Ben felt his eyes bug out of his head, choking on nothing, and she grinned, strutting over to the front door, locking it and flipping the sign.

 

“Mmmhmm. That’s what I thought.” She grinned, her eyes twinkling, walking back and grabbing the travel container then his hand. “Come on.”

 

*******

 

Rey had no idea what had come over her, but she led Ben up the stairs to her apartment, and brought him to her bedroom without a second thought. Setting the meat on the side table next to her bed, she pushed Ben into a sitting position on the bright comforter. Her hands running over the buttons of his shirt.

 

He was looking up at her as if he had no idea how they had ended up here, but he wasn’t upset about it. His palms grabbed her hips pulling her between his legs, and she laughed, yanking at the front closure of his plaid. “Do you wear anything but flannel?”

 

He shrugged, his fingers edging under the hem of her shirt to rub the skin of her belly. “What is happening right now?”

 

Rey grinned. “We are going to have sex, get all this negative stuff behind us, and go from there.”

 

*******

 

Ben and Rey lay together in a contented heap, naked and skin flushed with sweat, as he hand fed her bits of pork. “This is heaven. Great sex and great food.” Rey moaned, sucking his fingers slightly, and he grunted. At this rate, she would have him raring to go again.

 

“Want to make this a regular thing, Darlin’?”

 

Rey chuckled, nodding her head. “Yes, please. And if you stop being such an ass, I might promote you to boyfriend.”

 

Nipping at her neck, he growled, “I look forward to my performance evaluation.”

 


	4. Optional Smut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is optional and filled with smutty blowjob.

 

“As good as your pork is, I’d like to taste something else.”

 

Ben had been dozing contentedly, his big body splayed out on her perfect-for-her but too-small-for-him and way-too-small-for-both-of-them, and Rey had been eying him with appreciation for the last fifteen minutes. For a man who cooked and ate meat all the time, accompanied with beer if the time they had been spending together was any indication, and rarely ate vegetables, he was in phenomenal shape without looking like a gym freak.

 

He was broad, his chest hard and layered with muscle without being a rippling beast, probably because his body was made with functional strength from lifting and working with slabs of meat and even full bodies of pigs that sometimes tipped the scales over two hundred pounds. His arms had the cut and visible muscles that had so distracted her, and his legs were long and thick without being bulky or scrawny. His ass was out of this world. But right now, she was staring at his semi-hard cock.

 

But with his eyes closed, he didn’t really notice what she was looking at, his voice drawling and accent more obvious. “Oh yeah?” He hummed, one hand rubbing her shoulder as she curled around him, her hand tracing over his abs in a teasingly light touch. “What do you want? I’ve got a new beef rib idea I want to try. You can be my guinea pig.”

 

“That sounds good, but I was thinking something… a little more immediate.” Her tracing fingers trailed down circling his cock and her back curved to lick his hip. His erection jumped, then swelled, standing tall in a few moments, and she purred in delight.

 

Ben lifted his head looking down at her with a swallow. “Oh… Oh, you want…” He let his head flop back down to the pillow and nodded, his smile slowly growing. “I ain’t gonna stop you, Darlin.”

 

With his agreement, Rey wiggled down, excited to taste and feel him in her mouth, to watch him fall apart when she wasn’t distracted by her own orgasm as he thrust into her. He smelled musky, a hint of sweat mixed with something sweet, and she nuzzled against him letting his cock rub over her face.

 

He huffed, and Rey grinned, watching his thighs flex as he shifted and his hips instinctively searched for something to thrust into. Smirking, she licked a stripe up the skin of his cock, giggling as he hissed, before wrapping her mouth over his head.

 

He was big, long and thick, and had given her pause when he first took off his pants. But after a few weekends of them spending time together, with him taking lots of time preparing her (that she would never complain about), she had adjusted. Now, he was filling her mouth and stretching her lips, and Rey knew she wouldn’t be able to fit him, not without practice and maybe never, but wrapping her hands around his shaft, he didn’t seem to mind.

 

Ben was grunting, face red as he clenched his teeth, and his hands were opening and fisting in the sheets as his hips twitched. “Da… Darlin, that feels…” He groaned as she swirled her tongue around him and sucked, hips bucking. “Rey!”

 

She grinned, eyes flicking up to his face before focusing back on his cock, eagerly pumping her hands as he writhed under her.

 

Despite having come only an hour or so prior, he muttered a warning that he was going to spill in her mouth. She nodded, pulling away for a moment to whisper that it was okay. “I want to taste your cum, Ben.” Then fastening her mouth on him again, moving right back into the rhythm that had him shuddering and hissing.

 

Her words had struck him, and within moments he was gripping her shoulder, one hand tangling in her hair as his hips thrust, and her mouth filled with bitter salty cum. She swallowed, suckling each little pulse out of him and watching his face as he gasped and groaned. Finally spent, he gently pushed her away, too sensitive for anything more, and hauled her up to press kisses to her face and neck. “God damn, Sweetheart.”


End file.
